Workers who do intense physical labour should be allowed to retire early, a Wanganui union representative says.
Labour said this month it would raise the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation to 67, make KiwiSaver compulsory for employees and increase the contribution rate if voted into power.
Deputy Labour leader David Parker said newly released Census data backed the decision - with the number of people in the 50-59 age bracket jumping by 22 per cent since 2006 to 989,000.
"Although the total population increased, fewer people are under 15 than in 2006 and this reinforces the need to address superannuation," he said.
Paying for superannuation cost more than all benefits combined and within two years he expected it to exceed the annual spend on education.
Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union Wanganui representative Wayne Rusco said people who did "intense physical work" should be exempt from any increase in the superannuation age.
"For affordability reasons, we can understand why a wider discussion needs to be had, but I think the union's perspective is there are some occupations where an earlier retirement might be an option ... people who have worked in physical labour throughout their lives," he said.
This included workers in heavy labour occupations such as forestry and manufacturing, Mr Rusco said.
However, making KiwiSaver compulsory was an excellent idea.
"It's a real shame that we had that option back in the 70s but Rob Muldoon killed it off."
Labour has proposed raising the super eligibility age from 2020, increasing it two months at a time to reach 67 by 2026.
The party would also make KiwiSaver compulsory for those in employment.
It would be optional for the self-employed and those without an income.
The National-led Government put off automatically enrolling all employees in KiwiSaver because of the cost.
Labour would also look to change the default setting from the minimum contribution to an age-appropriate one - a decision which the Government recently decided against.
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly backed raising the super eligibility age to 67 and said it was unfortunate the issue had become a political debate: "I don't hear many voices at all who don't agree with raising the minimum age for superannuation."
However, making KiwiSaver compulsory wasn't necessary, Mr O'Reilly said.
"For some workers that's likely to be negative. It might be that you're saving at the wrong time of your career. If you're on a minimum wage, it's probably a good idea to spend that money."
Caution was needed when making anything compulsory, especially when there wasn't a good reason.
"A lot of the evidence around this tends to be that apparently KiwiSaver will improve net savings among New Zealanders. Well, there's no evidence of that."
He also cited the "incredibly expensive" cost of KiwiSaver to taxpayers.